It’s too late to train under Lydiard, so to understand him you just need to listen to Nobby, Kim, Glen, HRE and others who knew him. It’s no coincidence that those who knew him are such staunch defenders. You only had to spend a little time with the man to see the brilliance. I, for one, have never met anyone else like him.
Likewise, he had the ability to make very fast, but accurate assessments about a runner. He could predict future performances with frightening accuracy. Last November, he watched me run past at the 17 mile mark of a marathon. I was still on a decent pace at that point, but he sensed trouble and to my wife and friends, predicted my (somewhat disappointing) finish time within 3 seconds. I have heard many, many examples of how he could do that. For example, predicting the first 2:05 marathon - almost to the day - something like 30 years ago.
I recently interview several of his best runners in New Zealand. They all told me how he could make changes to their training that would break them out of a slump or get them to peak at just the right moment. He could always sense what they needed at any given moment. They never blindly followed schedules, though, of course, they had patterns they worked in. He put schedules in books for the same reason that everyone else does - you HAVE TO. The important thing is to understand the principles behind the schedules.
I guess the point I am making is, that Arthur was, in my opinion, one of, if not THE most brilliant mind to turn toward our sport. I put my trust in his ideas and I have not been disappointed.
Now, all of this takes nothing away from Dr. Daniels. We owe him a great deal too. His scientific approach is proven and invaluable. His many successful athletes are always ready to sing his praises.
This thread has been really great. Thanks Skuj for shaking things up and keeping these guys on their toes!